1028 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Factories which produce sporting and athletic goods 

 consume nearly 5,000,000 feet of maple annually in arti- 

 cles of many classes. Bowling alleys and the accompany- 

 ing apparatus account for most of it. The bowling pins 

 made of maple are considered superior to those of any 

 other .American wood. Its hardness and elasticity cause 

 it to be preferred to any other. The pins withstand ex- 

 cessive battering. The same qualities lead to its use as 

 croquet balls and mallets. 



Two woods only, hickory and ash, are in more demand 

 than maple by handle makers. The chief call for hickory 

 comes from the manufacturers of slender handles where 

 excessive toughness and resiliency are wanted ; ash leads 

 other woods for farm tool handles, as rakes, hoes and 

 pitchforks; and maple supplies many of the remaining 

 handles, among the numerous kinds being handles for 

 brooms, brushes, mops, small hand tools and what are 

 called grips, or the small turned pieces of wood serving 

 as hand holds on pails, tubs, boxes and packages. Many 



Photo by Maple Flooring Manufacturers' Assn. 



SUGAR MAPLE FOR FLOORING 



It is particularly serviceable for this purpose, the wood being tough, 

 heavy, strong and hard, taking a high polish and wearing evenly. 



pail handles are enameled to give them the appearance 

 of black ebony, and maple is one of the best woods for 

 that treatment. 



This wood has been found well suited for various 

 parts of professional and scientific instruments, and 

 nearly four and a half million feet are so used yearly. 

 With the exception of southern red cedar, maple leads 

 all other species in that industry, though thirty-four are 

 reported. 



Nearly four million feet of maple go yearly to toy 

 factories in this country. The separate articles are very 

 numerous, but most of the maple is worked into wagons 

 and sleds for children, and into toy tools for the play- 

 ground. 



Excelsior mills convert 3,000,000 feet of maple yearly 

 into the finely-cut ribbons of wood, and the finished article 

 is of great value as packing material for merchandise. 

 It takes the place of straw for that purpose, and is bet- 

 ter because it has a firmer body and is more elastic. Ex- 

 celsior is employed in considerable quantities in uphol- 

 stery, but is not equal to cotton, hair and Spanish moss.. 



USED FOR BRUSHES 



Sugar maple supplies a large part of the raw material required in the 

 manufacture of high-grade brushes of various kinds. 



The chopping blocks on which butchers cut meat were 

 once made of sycamore almost exclusively, but maple 

 has now taken first place. The chopping blocks are built 

 up of sections bolted together, but the old-time syca- 

 more was in a single piece. Maple is a leading wood also 

 for skewers, which are the small pins or pegs with which 

 the butcher trusses up a roast. The skewer maker se- 

 lects a wood that is not inclined to sliver or splinter, and 

 niaple meets that requirement. 



A number of industries consume maple in relatively 

 small amounts, that is, less than 2,000,000 feet a year. 

 .\mong such are the following : 



Brush backs require a wood firm enough to retain the 

 bristles, corn or fiber, and the yearly use of maple totals 

 1,913,000 feet. Of the thirty-four woods contributing to 

 this industry, beech and birch alone exceed maple in 

 <iuantilv. 



SUGAR MAPLE FOR CUTTING BLOCKS 



I'or cutting blocks, including those used in cigar factories, butcher shops, 

 etc., sugar maple is employed in equal quantities with sycamore. For- 

 merly a solid block ot wood was used for small cutting blocks, like 

 those shown in the picture, while a two-foot section of a tree answered 

 the same purpose in the butcher shop. At the present time both kinds 

 of blocks are built up of a number of smaller pieces, glued and bolted 

 together. 



